Thread by @Andrewwood17

Air Quality has been improving steadily for years in most parts of Tower Hamlets and is now below World Health Organisation safe levels on average
This downward trend has been happening for years even before ULEZ
During the 1st lockdown, the Council did not collect air quality
1/

so most data before 2020
One reason why this has not picked up in reporting is that the GLA only updates their London-wide analysis every 5 years, now out of date
My presentation based on a Council presentation that used old maps but where the text reflected what I am showing
2/

It is likely that the ULEZ extension in October (if it does improve air quality by 30% as TfL suggest) may well mean that large parts of Tower Hamlets will have levels of pollutants below World Health Organisation safe levels
Which are
who.int/news-room/fact…
3/

This is probably due to the Euro emissions standards for new cars improving on a regular basis so new cars are cleaner than old cars, the more new cars, plus hybrids + electric vehicles the faster the change
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_…
4/

But we need more data in a number of areas especially for PM2.5 as we only measure that in 3 places and only started measuring recently to be sure
Less clear as a result about rate of improvement & geographic spread
5/

This is 2019 NOX data, below 40 good Green, above 40 bad Yellow, really bad Red
Red dots close to major road tunnels, need to do more analysis around these dots to confirm source (road tunnel exits or traffic jams)
Source, can look at history as well
towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/environme…
6/

We also do not do enough measurements in places with major construction sites as data capture has been focused on vehicle traffic.
At times the worst place for air quality has not been by the side of a road but in Millwall Park in the south of the Isle of Dogs!
Today!
7/

I produced this presentation in response to a Council presentation that used old GLA maps and pictures but in the text basically said the same thing air quality has improved
Presentation is here
cllrandrewwood.com/news
8/

You can check this data for yourself here
airqualityengland.co.uk/local-authorit…
and
towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/environme…
Although have MS Excel spreadsheet skills helps
9/

My summary & recommendations
Need more data especially on PM2.5 & hot spots
Need to look at mitigation (barriers, trees etc) in those places above WHO targets
But public comments do not reflect fact that air quality already improving even if some way to go in some areas
10/

Data early Sunday morning 6am
No construction, minimal traffic, not hot
Good benchmark for background air quality
Millwall Park is 2, rest 1 where 1 = lowest level of pollution, 10 highest
Air quality good in other words
Will update this every day/different times